Milan sneaked into the Europa League Round of 16 thanks to away goals after tying 3-3 on aggregate against Crvena Zvezda. The double clash with the Serbians was anything but a stroll in the park for the Rossoneri, who failed to overcome Dejan Stankovic’s side despite finding themselves with a one-man advantage during both games.
Here are the player ratings for Stefano Pioli’s side from Thursday night’s game at the Stadio San Siro:
AC Milan XI
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7
God Save Gigio. Despite he was barely brought into play, he was decisive at the end of the match, saving a deadly shot by Sanogo. What a way to celebrate his 22nd birthday!
Davide Calabria – 6
This was not a match for the fainthearted, but the Rossoneri #2 definitely didn’t disappoint. The Italian had no opportunity to shine on the front-side but his help in the defensive play was important.
Fikayo Tomori – 6.5
Another solid performance from the young defender made in Chelsea. He dominated the box and made even Romagnoli feel safer towards the big Serbian strikers.
Alessio Romagnoli – 6
Not an easy period for Milan’s captain, who didn’t play a bad game but was still the key underperformer in the Rossoneri defense in view of his bad positioning in the occasion of El Fadou Ben’s goal.
Diogo Dalot – 5.5
Another bad performance for the Portuguese, who was always late on his opponents. From his side, Crvena Zvezda had the most chances to trouble Donnarumma.
Soualiho Meité – 6
Finally, Soualiho. This was a tough match to play but the former Torino finally seemed to have found his dimension in Milan’s midfield.
Franck Kessié – 6.5
Hardcore Franck. The Presidente gave Milan the lead with his penalty and pushed the Rossoneri towards the last 16 of this Europa League edition.
Samu Castillejo – 5.5
Missing Samu. The Spaniard seems lost and the right-wing of Stefano Pioli’s side always appears to be the weak spot of the team.
Hakan Calhanoglu – 6
At least, he tried. Back from COVID, the Turk is still far from his golden days of late 2020. But despite his bad moment, he is always reliable.
Rade Krunic – 5
The Bosnian got the occasion to show Stefano Pioli he could get more playing time but, aside from the shot that generated the penalty, Rade Krunic seemed always out of position and – what’s worse – out of condition.
Rafael Leao – 5
Back into the full-forward position, the young Portuguese didn’t seem at ease in a match where the Rossoneri could have used his speed in counterattacks. On the contrary, those few times he got the ball he turned into that old, lazy version of himself that Stefano Pioli and Milan supporters don’t like at all.
Milan Substitutes
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 5.5
The Swedish giant made a good impact on the match, taking the pressure away from his teammates. His presence seemed to unlock the match for the Rossoneri, but Zlatan soon got overtaken by the nervousness of his team, risking a red card for no reason.
Ante Rebic – 5.5
Copy and paste what written above for Ibrahimovic. The Croatian also had a few chances to make it to scoresheet, but Ante’s last decisions and last touches were always the wrong ones.
Alexis Saelemaekers – 5.5
The Belgian wing had a good pace, but Alexis seems to have lost his focus and perhaps his luck recently.